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…just like N’Sync, The Backstreet Boys, and Brittney Spears did. At least some people say they will. We suppose Mr. Bieber already has. He has sold plenty of albums, and already had a fantastically successful tour for millions of screaming fans all around the world.

One Direction seems to be headed in the same direction. The British music clan has a sound that is not terrible foreign to the mainstream American music market. But perhaps it is their “boy-band” quality that has all the US girls going crazy. Marketing is a powerful thing, and the music business has figured out how to create hugely successful artists based off of many other things besides music. That is not to say that their music isn’t good, but our culture seems to be longing for the nostalgic sound of the “boy-band” that has truly been lost for almost a decade. Their record “What Makes You Beautiful” debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest for any UK act since Jimmy Ray – do you remember him? Didn’t think so, 1998 was too long ago.

Mr. Beiber is turning heads and ears continually. Many have commented already that his newest single, “Boyfriend” is quite different, and more mature than his previous music. We would like to agree. The sound of this record is more organic, and less electronic than his previous records, and therefore more edgy for the music environment that its being released in. We are surrounded by the influences of Electronica everywhere our ears turn – and while Electronica is lovely in its own right, the time to define the 2010s as a musical decade is now, and that sound in pop music is very much a 2000s thing. Musical decades do not follow traditional calendar alignments. Generally speaking, they extend into each other slightly – e.g. 2002-2012. If you don’t believe us, review your Billboard charts and wait until you hear what the number Billboard Hot 100 record is in January 2013…

The best part about these two musical juggernauts, is that there is speculation they will be collaborating soon…